Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: A Second Chance to Fail
by Megalemon
Summary: The Mystery Dungeons have reappeared. A mysterious fog sweeps across the land of Ellondos, turning once-sentient Pokemon into vicious feral beasts. A tyrant king wages war on the Pokemon Factions. A legendary hero becomes a martyr for war after being killed. All of this ties in somehow with a strange Pikachu named Six, who believes he was once human.


Chapter 1

* * *

Yellow rays of sunlight shone softly through the darkened canopy of leaves, giving just enough illumination to warm the Pokemon below and allow them light to see by. Great trees with dark brown trunks sprouted upwards like massive green-tipped fingers pointing into the cloudless morning sky. The heat was comforting to those who took notice, but few in this place ever did, beyond when there was the need to gather heat for survival in the winter.

Survival.

A yellow rodent exploded out of a leafy green bush, having tripped on an exposed root. His speed having betrayed him, the mouse yelped as he hit the ground and began tumbling on his side, throwing dead leaves from the forest floor into the air. He stopped rolling after a few feet, choosing to lay motionless for a few moments, cringing at the raw feeling of the cuts and bruises covering his body, and the uncomfortable feeling of sticky, dry blood matting his fur in several places, which only made his utter exhaustion feel more significant.

Six gritted his teeth and pushed his body off the ground. He winced, feeling much heavier than he should have.

 _Have to keep... running. They'll catch-_

A series of growls and snarls caused Six's long black-tipped ears to twitch, and his head and eyes shot up toward the shrubs he had emerged from. There was an anxious moment of silence, and then a black and gray dog-like creature emerged, its teeth bared in a menacing snarl. It crept forward on cautious legs as two more similar-looking creatures emerged from the bushes behind it, each as vicious in appearance as the first.

They closed in on Six. Finding himself pumped with sudden adrenaline, the yellow mouse whirled around, turning to run away. He quickly found himself muzzle-to-muzzle with yet another of the dark hounds, which snapped at him as he quickly backed away, its teeth making a threatening clapping noise as the jaws came together.

Six stood motionless as the dogs encircled him. He was trapped now. Cornered. Their circle was wide enough that any direction he could run would be quickly cut off, yet close enough that each was within pouncing range. Six's black eyes darted around, searching for any means of escape, all the while keeping a close eye on each hound. He felt static electricity building in the air around him, adding to the tension, though for reasons Six didn't understand, that type of static always felt strangely benevolent.

One of the dogs suddenly bolted forward, its jaws wide open and poised. Six's sensitive ears alerted him to the shifting sounds before it even got close, and he whirled around to face his foe. However, his assailant stopped short as he turned to face it. His ears soon picked up another sound coming from behind him, but before Six realized it was a trick, something sharp and powerful clamped onto his back leg.

Six gasped at the pain, adrenaline filling his veins, and in a brief moment of shock, felt a great deal of static electricity suddenly attach to his fur. His senses cleared and he could feel the pain more intensely, but along with that, he felt more powerful, as though his body were a battery suddenly half-recharged by his will to escape.

Six curled his body around and struck back at the dog. Its teeth still sunk into Six's leg, it didn't even try to move out of the way as Six bit down on its muzzle. The hound seemed hardly affected at first, but then two loud pops accompanied by bright flashes of light made it howl in pain. It threw its head back as the surge of electricity siezed its muscles, releasing Six from its jaws and sending him airborne four or five feet, then it fell rigidly onto its side, excess electricity dancing across its dark grey fur.

Six grunted as he landed roughly, his eyes going wide from the pain in his leg as he collapsed into the leaves. Through the pain, his mind raced for a way out. With the remaining electricity in his body, his mind and senses felt clear, and though that meant the pain was also more clear, he somehow refrained from panicking.

 _That bite injured my leg, so running away would be useless now. I can't properly control my electrical... affinity, to hit all of them and stun them. It's just too wild. Still, there must be a way out. Surrounded on all sides... except..._

He looked up and saw his chance.

Two of the dogs pounced at once. A jolt zipped through the muscles in Six's good leg, and then, summoning as much strength as he had left, he _jumped_. Six launched from the ground as if shot from a cannon, and below him his would-be assailants yelped as their heads collided with a crack.

On one good leg, Six managed to propel himself high enough into the air to reach the low-hanging branches snaking down from the canopy, and he wasted no time in stabbing out with his tiny hands and snagging one. The thin branch quickly snapped, but Six managed to thrust out his other paw and grip a sturdier one before he could fall.

His heart raced. His breathing was shallow and panicked, eyes wide and full of primal fear. Gripping the blessed leafy branch, knowing his life depended on it, Six turned his head and risked a glance downward, a quiet whimper escaping his mouth.

His leap had taken him high. He couldn't judge exactly how high he had jumped, but he appeared to have removed himself from the danger entirely. God above, it had worked!

The hounds circled anxiously below. The two that collided with each other had apparently recovered quickly, as they and one more were impatiently waiting for Six to come back down. Even the alpha, whom Six had temporarily paralyzed, was quickly recovering.

One of the hounds stopped. It looked up at Six with its unnerving red and yellow eyes, then began to rear back on its hind legs. Panic welled up in Six's chest as the predator prepared to leap, shaking its rear a bit as it dug its back paws into the dirt.

 _No!_ Six thought, his panic rising. _There's no way they can jump this high! They can't-_

It leaped, pushing off powerful canine hind legs to propel itself upwards, its jaws open wide and poised to clamp down on Six's body.

...However, after rising only a few feet off the ground, gravity worked its magic and send it right back down. It landed with a frustrated growl, then tried again, though it didn't get near as high as its first try.

Six found himself still tensed up several minutes after the dog had failed, his black eyes shut tightly and his tail curled upwards as if there was a chance it could have been snagged by those jaws. He tried to relax, but he found that he could barely move a muscle, his fear keeping him locked into a death grip on his only friend, the branch.

Minutes went by. Or was it hours? The hounds eventually lost interest and left Six alone, but he kept clinging, though he had eventually pulled himself up onto the branch and let his body rest. His leg throbbed, a shooting pain racing through it with each heartbeat, and several other areas on his body felt like they needed medical treatment. Blood covered much of his body, and the parts that weren't stained with blood were matted and turned an ugly brown or orange. He looked awful, which conveniently matched the way he felt.

 _I can't live like this,_ Six thought, digging his tiny claws into the bark, his black eyes locked blankly straight ahead. Tears were beginning to well up in his eyes. _I can't take one more day. Why? Why did I become this... this thing? Where am I? And why can't I remember anything?_

Eventually, Six found himself getting drowsy. He didn't know if it was from the blood-loss, the exhausting fight, or the inescapable fact that he would have to fight for survival tomorrow. Either way, he felt mentally and physically drained. He swore he was at his end in both regards. But, he felt that _all_ the time.

 _I'm going to die out here. I'm going to die without ever understanding what happened to me._

Feeling his eyelids growing increasingly heavy, Six lay his head down on the branch and let himself drift off to sleep.

 _For all I know, I might even already be dead._

...

"Now that's a strange sight."

Late evening had come quickly, turning the rays of sunlight orange as they filtered through the leafy canopy. Distant chirps could be heard, though they were beginning to die down as night approached. Aside from the birds, the only other sound was the wind blowing through the trees.

That, and that strange Pikachu's snoring.

Remmy hopped from his branch to another, trying to get a better view of the slumbering creature. He had watched the entire fight from above, hoping but not expecting for the Pikachu to come through, and fortunately, somehow, it had. The Froakie had run and hid from those same Poocheyena that that Pikachu fought with, but shamefully could not muster up the courage to jump down and help. After all, what if he did help and then the Pikachu decided to attack him? It could have very well been a feral, too. Though admittedly, Remmy had never seen or heard of Pikachu making their homes in the Tin Woods. That alone was fairly good reason to suspect it was just a lost traveler or something.

Deftly hopping to an adjacent branch next to the Pikachu's, Remmy focused in and inspected the poor creature. It obviously hadn't escaped from the scuffle unscathed, no. In fact, it looked like it was in pretty bad shape, especially that back leg where it was bitten. Remmy knew his mother would likely be able to patch that up. She always knew what to do when he got hurt. Besides that, it was hard to tell if there were any other injuries underneath the dried blood and matted yellow fur.

Remmy sat silently for a moment, wondering what to do. He weighed becoming a reluctant samaritan-delivering this Pikachu to his mother who may treat his wounds-against the risk that it might attack him, or later, them. Estimating that in its condition even a water-gun would overwhelm it, and considering how little daylight remained, he chose to lend aid, keeping in mind two thoughts: to stay ready to defend himself, and that he might befriend this Pikachu. There was a third thought in the back of his mind, but it faded before he realized it. That last thought seemed important. What had he forgotten?

He shrugged it off. The way he saw it, if it was that important, his brain wouldn't have chosen to forget it.

"I really hope it's not a bad Pokemon though. It would be cool to be friends with a Pikachu..."

He eyed the sleeping Pokemon near the end of the other branch, then swallowed. "Here goes..."

Remmy crouched low, then crawled along his branch until he reached its origin. He stayed low, first cautiously checking if his hands and feet were indeed sticking to the bark, and then climbed onto the tree's dark trunk. He made his way down and around the tree a bit to the other branch, his hands and feet like suction cups, keeping him safely stuck in the vertical angle.

As he neared the Pikachu, he realized it wasn't snoring he heard earlier, but something else. It sounded more like pained grunts and whimpers. It twitched occasionally as well, sometimes only its ear or its lightning-bolt shaped tail, sometimes its entire body. Remmy halted, one sticky forepaw on the Pikachu's branch, and wondered briefly if it was even asleep at all.

Approaching even more cautiously now, the Froakie watched the mouse's long ears. They would be the tell-tale signs that he'd been noticed, as their involuntary twitching-besides the erratic twitching they were already doing-would mean he had been heard. Remmy crept closer and closer, heart thumping, preparing for anything. He saw in his mind's eye the Pikachu suddenly jumping up and sending a bolt of electricity his way, then of course himself quickly dodging to the side.

...And then falling off the tree because there is nowhere to dodge. Remmy gulped again and briefly considered turning back. But, he was within an arm's reach of the Pikachu now, and decided there _was_ no turning back.

Tentatively, Remmy reached an arm out to touch the injured Pokemon.

...

Six knew immediately that he was in another dream. He always knew somehow, now matter how ridiculously real they felt.

He heard-no, _felt_ -his own scream from within his chest. Air seemed to be whooshing past him at unimaginable speeds. He felt like he was being torn away, leaving small pieces of himself far, far behind, making him long to turn back and retrieve them. However, he found that he was locked into place, staring straight ahead into darkness, speeding down a black invisible highway toward...

A light?

Six was gripping something in both hands, though his body was gone. Somehow he could feel it, though he didn't recognize it. A stick? It fit his right hand's grip perfectly, conforming to the shape of his fingers, while his left hand gripped his right for added stability. To control it. Keep it in place. He tried to move it, but his hands would not budge it in any direction. Then, everything began to spin.

The light was getting brighter. Closer. But Six could hardly see it. Six's vision blurred and he quickly grew nauseated as the world around him spun by. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't think. His mind was growing fuzzy and he struggled to remain 'awake'. It was a losing battle-all the blood in his body was now rushing toward his head and quickly making him black out.

 _They never make any sense,_ was his last disembodied thought as he felt himself float off into unconsciousness. The light seemed to overtake his entire being, and his body was completely torn away, leaving behind an overwhelming sensation of _nothing_. He screamed again, but it was cut off.

And something touched him.

...

Six's eyes snapped open. That last part felt real. _Too_ real.

There was something near him, he was sure of it. He could hear it breathing! Something was trying to kill him again!

Operating mostly on instinct, Six, without turning around to face his attacker, balanced on all fours and prepared to discharge any and all static he had in his body. He didn't know how to aim it, but it could pack some real power if it did hit. Even if it didn't, it was usually distracting enough for a getaway.

Six glowed a bright yellow-white, static electricity dancing on and around his small frame and illuminating a small portion of the surrounding area. Then, a burst of light sent electricity in all directions. It crackled loudly through the air, and Six could distinctly hear a loud yelp as his attacker was struck or at least startled by the lightning. The world in Six's eyes seemed to grow just a tinge duller as the energy left his body.

Fear urging him onwards, Six turned and ran along the branch back to its base.

"Agh! W-wait!"

Six stopped dead in his tracks, ignoring his instincts screaming at him to get away. He whirled around, eyes urgent, searching for the source of the plea.

What he saw was a blue... thing, dangling with its grip on a small twig that jutted from the underside of the branch. It looked vaguely like a frog, though it had a collar of what looked like bubbles, and large yellow eyes. It was about the same size as Six, maybe a few inches smaller. This creature didn't look dangerous. In fact, it appeared harmless! But, that was the point, right? If one's appearance lulled others into a false sense of security, it would bring the opportune moment to strike. They were dangerous, all of them, and they almost never acted rationally.

But this one...

Inexplicably, Six found himself rushing back to help the frog-like creature, momentarily ignoring the stabbing pain in his leg. He knew he should have been running away-away from potential danger-but something told him to keep going.

He stopped on the branch just above the frog, nearly losing his balance. He looked down at the frog thing, pausing briefly to look into its eyes. They were full of fear and maybe a bit of shock. But they were alert. Conscious. Unlike those of the creatures that he had come in contact with and been attacked by thus far. Six shook his head, gripping the tree limb tightly in his paws, then turned around and lowered his lightning bolt-shaped tail down to the creature. Without hesitation, it grabbed on with its stubby white fingers, and Six pulled it up with relative ease.

They each took a step or two back from the other. Six eyed the creature, and it eyed him back, each seeming to be waiting for something to happen. There was a long moment of silence, save for the wind through the trees, which always made Six's ears twitch randomly. Finally, the frog sighed, looking relieved.

"For a..." The frog began slowly, breathing hard from adrenaline. "For a second there, I thought for _sure_ you were a feral! Had me going there! And sorry about sneaking up on you like that. Boy, you really gave me a shock back there!" Then, it laughed, and Six was left dumbfounded.

 _It really did talk,_ Six thought, mind numb. _And I think it just made a pun._

The frog put up a stubby white finger and continued. "Ferals don't do what you did, turn around and help someone in trouble. A feral would have just run away or tried to eat me. That's how I know you're not one of them."

 _I wanted to run away,_ Six found himself thinking. He shook his head, mind feeling numb. This thing was talking to him. For the first time for as long as Six could remember, something was talking to him! He had assumed and nearly accepted that none of the animals could talk or think rationally like he could, but here was this frog... thing, and it was speaking just like any human would.

Relief. Fear. Happiness. Confusion. Hundreds of emotions swam through Six's mind, melding together into a strange feeling that made Six unable to speak. He tried to say something, but only managed a series of unintelligible stuttering noises that only vaguely resembled words. Lord above, had he actually forgotten how to speak? Had it really been that long?

The frog creature cocked its head. "You're... a bit odd," it said, inspecting Six. "Do you live here? I don't think I've ever heard of Pikachu living in these woods."

Six quickly shook his head. "N... no," he managed to cough out, his voice gravelly. It sounded, of course, like it hadn't been used in quite a while. He had so many questions for the creature, but like several people trying to go through a small doorway at once, none were able to quite make it through. He simply stayed silent, mind still racing.

"Huh," it said, taking a small step forward, causing Six to take an instinctive small step backward. "Are you lost, then? You look like you've been out here kind of a while."

What to say? There had to be something he could tell this creature for it to understand. But... what? The frog waited expectantly as Six opened his mouth to speak. He sputtered, stumbling over half-words and wordless sounds with his hands out in front of him, gesticulating as if they would help draw the right words out. He couldn't just say anything-he had to speak with tact if he didn't want to just scare the poor creature off. He needed to say something that wouldn't write him off as immediately crazy.

"I... am... human," he finally forced out.

The frog blinked in surprise, and Six mentally smacked himself on the face. Literally anything else would have sounded more sane. Now, he'd be lucky if the frog thing didn't run off crying for help.

However, it only cocked its head a little more. "What? But you... huh?"

It seemed like it was actually trying to process what Six had said. Somehow, Six knew that was a good sign. It meant it hadn't written him off as crazy just yet.

"Did you... hit your head or something? You look like a Pokemon to me."

 _A Poke-what?_ Six thought, furrowing his brow. He looked down at his furred yellow paws, wiggling his tiny claws. _Is that what I am? Is that what I'm called? Not an animal or something? Or is that the name of my particular species? No... he called me something else earlier, too. Pikachu._

Six shook his head. He still found the words extremely difficult to get out for some reason. "I'm not... supposed to be... a..." Six gestured to his own body, his expression anxious as he trailed off.

"...A Pokemon? A Pikachu?" The blue frog finished for him. Six nodded vigorously.

Then, the frog giggled.

"Well, what in the world do you think you're supposed to be then? A Dragonite?" It laughed even harder this time, and Six quickly grew frustrated.

"A hu..." Six coughed. "...man! Human! I'm supposed to be... "

He trailed off, letting his arms fall to his sides, looking defeated. It didn't believe him. How _could_ it believe him? Did it even matter? If Six was right and he was stuck in some kind of purgatory after death, what did it mean if he were once human, bear, or alien? Six slouched visibly, his mind feeling as if it were shrouded in fog. Why even bother trying?

The frog quickly switched its demeanor, now looking at Six with concern. It inched a bit closer, and this time Six didn't move back in response, though he glanced up at it warily.

"Hey," it said, voice now softer and carrying hints of genuine worry. "I didn't mean to make you sad, I was just joking. I'll believe you if it'll make you feel better, okay? Please stop being sad."

Six eyed the odd creature, incredulous, watching as it indicated a smile on its own face, urging Six to smile back. He could not.

 _It's almost... human-like. Was it also once a human like I was? Am I not the only one?_

"My... memory... is gone," Six found himself explaining to it. "The-"

Six choked again, cutting off his sentence, his throat dry and his words becoming a jumbled mess once again.

"Wow. You sound like you haven't had anything to drink in days! We should probably get you some water real soon. And patch that leg up, too." The frog crossed its arms, thinking. "Still, that's strange. No memory, huh? Sounds like you got amnesia or something, and it... made you think you're a human? I've honestly never heard of something like that happening."

Six nearly objected, but then he paused. Could that actually be it? Amnesia? Did he only think he was a human because he hit his head or something? Six had no memory of any friends, family, or even what he had looked like. He didn't remember _being_ human, only that he _was_ one. Could that feeling have just been brought on by a sharp blow to the head or something of that sort? It had about as much plausibility as what Six was claiming.

Instead of arguing, Six simply shrugged. "You... could be right," he said, now finding his words a bit easier.

"Or!" The frog held up a finger, looking a bit more excited. "You actually _are_ a human, and you got cursed or something by grabbing a Ninetales' tails!"

"I don't know what a... 'Ninetales', is."

It paused. "Wow," it said, taken aback. "That is some _hardcore_ amnesia, man. Do you even remember your own name?"

Six hesitated, then shook his head. No, remembering his name was one of the first things he'd remembered... well, doing. It had seemed close then, like trying to remember the details of a dream one had just woke up from. But the more he tried, the further it slipped away. Now, it seemed foreign to him, as if it never had been. The word 'six' had surfaced, however, in lieu of a name of any sort. Whatever meaning the number six had to him at one point, if any at all, Six was now clueless. The meaning was long-gone to him now. He had, however, taken to referring to himself as 'Six' at some point.

"No. I don't remember that either. But you can call me Six."

The frog stifled a laugh. "Well, I think that's a funny thing to call yourself! That's a number, not a name, silly!"

This time, the frog did laugh. The idea of calling oneself self a number instead of a name seemed endlessly entertaining to it. Soon, Six found himself cracking a tiny smile as well. It was, admittedly, a bit silly-sounding out loud. Still, it didn't make sense to start calling himself something else, so he didn't offer anything else.

"I'm Remmy, by the way!" The frog held out a hand to Six. Hesitantly, Six took it. "Nice to meet you!" It smiled a genuine smile, then glanced downward, looking as if he were sizing up the drop to the forest floor.

"Now let's get out of this tree. We'll go back to my house, it's not all that far from here, really! And my Mom can fix that leg of yours and clean you up and stuff!"

Six winced at the mention of his leg. He had somehow managed to forget the stabbing pain in the excitement, but now it returned to him in full force. It definitely wasn't broken-that was obvious by the way he had ran away, then back to save Remmy-but it still hurt badly to move more than a couple inches in any direction. Plus there was the risk of infection...

"Are you... sure we can make it? My leg is injured from the fight eariler. I will not be able to run very quickly."

The frog waved a hand dismissively. "Oh yeah, should be fine! We'll just take the shortcut and-"

It froze suddenly, then gasped, eyes going wide.

"Ohhh..." His look of shock was soon replaced by a deflating look of worry. Of fear, even.

Six still felt numb, but found himself asking after Remmy anyway.

"What? What's wrong?"

Remmy looked grim, staring to the side at something far away. Six glanced in the direction it was looking, but saw nothing save for more trees, quickly bearing a subdued look of confusion.

"I just realized," the frog began, his voice trembling. "We... are in a heap of trouble..."

It shook its head, wincing. It looked pained, as if the thought of _something_ was causing him so much grief that it was actually hurting him.

"The Tin Woods Bridge," it elaborated before Six could further question. "It crosses a gigantic gorge that separates my house from these woods. It's the only sane way to get back... and they... close it before night. Draw it up."

Six nodded, thinking.

"They have already drawn the bridge then?" Six felt a tinge of surprise at the evenness of his voice. It was calm and smooth, the words flowing from a mind that was collected and forward-thinking in the face of stress. Where had _that_ come from? That wasn't like him.

...Or was it? Did he really know who he was? Was this, perhaps, a small glimpse into who he had been before his... 'amnesia'? Or was it just a side-effect of his mounting stress?

Remmy nodded in response to Six, sniffling quietly. He thought he could see tears welling up in the frog's eyes.

"It would be up already."

Six was silent for a moment, his expression blank as he assessed his situation.

"...You said that bridge was the only 'sane' way to get back," Six noted. "So there are other ways? Back to some sort of civilization?"

"Well... yeah, there are," Remmy mumbled, eyes downcast. He scoffed. "We could try to jump the sixty-foot chasm, or..."

"...Or?"

Remmy gritted his teeth. "Or... we could go through the Mystery Dungeon."

Six cocked his head, then Remmy sighed.

"Can't remember those either huh? They're... ugh, I have no idea how to explain it. The only way to know what they are is to just see one for yourself."

"Very well. Let's go then."

Remmy paled visibly. "N-no! It's... do you have any idea how dangerous it is in a Mystery Dungeon? They're full of vicious Pokemon that try to jump out and eat you!" He bared his teeth, snarling, with his hands above his head, imitating claws in his best impression of something intimidating.

Six regarded him flatly. "So, it's exactly like this place?"

"No, it's not!" Remmy hesitated. "Well... it kinda is. But it's worse! It's like a messed up version of this place, and it's more scarier!"

 _More scarier,_ Six repeated in his head. _Just how old is this... frog... thing? I should ask him what species his is called when I get the chance._

"Plus," he continued. "It always changes, no matter how many times you go in it! You could get lost and never come out again, even if you stay walking in one direction! And you get hungry _way_ faster than normal! And a bunch of other bad stuff can happen! I even hear that in some Mystery Dungeons, there's hidden traps all over the place! Heck, we'd probably be better off throwing ourselves into the chasm than trying to get through the Tin Woods Mystery Dungeon!"

"I see," Six said. "Then obviously our best option is to wait here through the night and-"

"No!" Remmy exclaimed again, panic in his eyes. "The... the fog comes out at night. It turns normal Pokemon into... m-monsters!"

 _Monsters? What does he mean by that? Is he just scared of the dark or something? I don't remember any kind of fog even coming through here. However... I don't remember very far back either. God, I know so little. I feel like a child._

The frog paced around anxiously, his panic obviously rising. Six felt as if he _should_ have been worried along with Remmy, but something held him back from panicking-some fleeting feeling that he knew he recognized but refused to surface clearly. It was keeping him calm, Six realized, allowing him to think sensibly.

"Remmy. I don't think any type of fog ever comes through here. I do not recall seeing any type of fog in the couple weeks I have memories of."

The frog sniffed. "It doesn't come every night... it'll definitely come tonight."

"How do you know?"

"I just do. It's gonna get us and make us into bad Pokemon..."

Six frowned as he noticed a tear fall from Remmy's cheek. He didn't look like someone with an irrational fear. He was no longer panicking. He simply seemed... resigned. Could what he said about this fog be true? And about the monsters? Six knew so little, he felt as if he had to trust whatever Remmy said. He could be lying, but for what? If he was planning to kill him, there had been plenty of opportunities to do that. In his weakened state, Six doubted he would last in a one-on-one fight with a healthy opponent.

Six weighed his options, then decided.

"Get up," Six demanded in a soft yet commanding voice to the sobbing frog. He quickly glanced up, at first looking dumbly at Six, then scrambling to his feet.

"Wh-what?"

"Lead us to this Mystery Dungeon," Six said, massaging his injured leg a bit.

"B-but-"

"Think about it, Remmy. We have three options, two of which seem to be sure death."

Remmy shrank visibly at the mention of the word 'death', giving Six momentary pause. Either he was very sheltered, or he most definitely was a child. Six shook the thought out of his head, trying not to lose his train of thought.

"...If what you say is true," Six continued. "Then it sounds like the Mystery Dungeon is our best option. I am injured, but I have some control over electricity, and therefore can still attack any wild animals that make an attempt on us. And you... well, I don't know what you can do, but you're healthy. You can watch our backs while we carefully sweep the area for any sign of an exit. We can make it through as long as we keep our heads. We aren't going to get... er, turned into monsters, Remmy. We can do this."

Six still wasn't sure if he believed the frog about the fog and the monsters he seemed to be afraid of, but he was most certainly sure that he was sick and tired of this place. He had a chance to get out, and dangerous magical maze or not, he was going to take it. Remmy looked stunned at first, glancing at Six as if he had grown a second head. Then, shakily, he nodded.

"O... okay, then. If y-you really think we can do it..."

Six nodded, a tired confidence in his eyes, then Remmy pointed a stubby white finger.

"It's that way. Here... follow me. Man, I hope you know what you're doing, Six..."

 _I most definitely do not,_ Six responded in his head. Best to keep thoughts like that to himself.

* * *

Author's Note: First chapter of many! Had a lot of fun writing this, but I'll be the first to tell you I'm only a beginner when it comes to writing (I'm a lot better at drawing, I promise!) This story is kind of my way of perfecting my craft, so to speak. I hope, in the meantime, that I'll be able to tell an interesting and fun story for you guys, and that you'll enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it! Any type of review or critique welcome, of course-that's the only way I'll improve!


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